In Southwest Airlines’ new Super Bowl ad, boarding looks more like the Hunger Games than an orderly process. Set in an airport that’s been reimagined as a dense jungle, passengers rush to secure their preferred seats before it’s too late: a woman swings on a giant vine to cut her fellow travelers; a grandma shoulder-checks a passerby; and a man creates a dummy seatmate out of twigs to convince other fliers that his aisle seat has already been snagged. 

The ad is a parody of Southwest’s former open boarding policy, which, since the airline’s official founding in 1971, allowed passengers to choose their own seats in a system that aimed to reduce the hierarchy of tiered seating. In July 2024, Southwest announced that it would be nixing open seating in favor of a more........

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